


The Haunting of Spicer Manor

by Cold_Creature



Category: Xiaolin Showdown (Cartoon)
Genre: Chack, Complete, Ghosts, Gore, Halloween, Haunting, Horror, M/M, Pre-Slash, Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-30
Updated: 2015-10-31
Packaged: 2018-04-28 22:09:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5107412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cold_Creature/pseuds/Cold_Creature
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Come on…this is Jack we’re talking about. It’s got to be a joke…”<br/>When a fire ravages the Spicer Manor, no one can believe Jack's gone. Especially Chase... Driven to find the missing genius, Chase returns the manor to find out what happened. <br/>CHACK - Mentions of Slash - Happy Halloween!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

#  **The Haunting of Spicer Manor  
**

##  **Part 1**

**  
***~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ****  


###  **  
Prologue**

  
“No way…” Kimiko whispered, staring down at her phone as the walls of the Wu vault caught her voice and bounced it up and around the temple. She knew the others would find her soon, but she felt frozen to the floor, unable to tear her eyes away from the small, unassuming article, that she’d almost scrolled past moments ago.

“You’re it!”

Flinching back against the cold stone, Kimiko’s eyes scrambled up to find Omi perched on top of her head and shoulders. She hadn’t even felt him arrive. It would’ve been funny any other day, but now she just felt sick.

Above her, the water-elemental poked her forehead again, but gently this time. “Aren’t you supposed to chase me now…?” he asked when she didn’t move. Then his eyes dragged across her pale face again, and this time he began to worry. “Kimiko?”

“You're thinking of… tag.” Kimiko muttered, and then her eyes were back on the phone, scanning the article for the third time, then fourth.

“What’s wrong?” Omi asked, his eyes falling to the device.

“She’s just sore that you found her already!” Raimundo crowed, startling the pair of monks. Raimundo and Clay appeared at the door to the vault, grinning to one another as they descended the stairs to meet the others. But Raimundo’s teasing smile fled when he finally got a look at Kimiko. “Hey, what happened?”

“It’s the Spicer Mansion…” she muttered under her breath. “It burnt down.”

Raimundo laughed, startling the other three, “Yeah right!” he said, snatching at the phone, but his smile sank when Kimiko let him have it. “Come on…this is Jack we’re talking about. It’s got to be a joke…” But Kimiko didn’t look convinced, and Raimundo’s stomach dropped when he turned his eyes to article; “The fire that destroyed the Spicer Manor wasn’t detected until early this morning..." Raimuned read aloud, "Firefighters arrived at the scene and were able to put out the worst of the fire. Later, they were able to determine that the fire began in the down stairs basement-…” Raimundo’s voice trailed off, and his face paled.

“C’mon.” Clay nudged, when Raimundo didn’t continue; “What about Spicer? He wasn’t down there, was he?”

“He’s missing.” Kimiko whispered, and her eyes started to well. “They haven’t found any human remains, but his parents haven’t heard from him…”

Omi, who had been quiet up until that point, leapt up and snatched the phone from Raimundo unresponsive fingers. “He’s alive.” He snapped, squeezing the phone is his tiny fist, while making a point by not to look at it, “Raimundo is right- This is just a stupid prank... And even if there was a fire, Jack Spicer has his robots- and they would've-!” Omi’s voice trembled, and he quickly shook his head. “Come on.” He said, as he tossed Kimiko her phone and hurried from the vault. “Enough of this. Let us get back to our training!”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

In the depths of Mount Doom, Chase Young stood from his throne and snapped his fingers. Within an instant, a dark magic raced to his aid and melted his black cloak down, so it streamlined across his body. It was making away for traditional armour, that materialized and snapped around him with a burn of furious green sparks.

The all-seeing eye that had shown the immortal the monks, moments before, winced away from its master. The image of Kimiko’s phone, and the article it had zeroed in on, faded from its iris, leaving it dull and nervous.

Chase twitched at the sight of it. It was pathetic. “Why are you still here? Go!” he spat, and the eyeball squeaked and shrivelled back down into the marble floor, leaving its master in peace. This, of course, didn’t make Chase feel any better, and he narrowed his eyes on the spot where the eye had vanished.

Then, without a word, the immortal vanished from the great hall and reappeared in a dark place that smelt of nothing but charred masonry and singed metal. As the sharp smell burnt its way through his nostrils, the immortal turned, and let his gold eyes scan through the darkness. The four walls of Jack’s lab were streaked black with smoke, while his great machines pressed in each corner had crumpled from the heat or shattered altogether. The staircase hadn’t faired any better; it was covered with debris that only let light drip down into the lab.

Some of that light splashed onto something by the immortal’s feet, and he glanced down at it curiously. Despite how it had warped from the heat, it was clear that it had once been the metal claw of a Jack-Bot. Chase’s gaze traced up its arm slowly, and found the rest of the bot burnt out and staring back at him with cracked optics. Its case was torn, and riddled with holes where the fire had melted through. But something was off about it, and Chase tilted his head when he noticed that it looked like it had been crawling away from the exit, its arm reaching deeper into the dark lab.

Unsettled, the dragon that resided within Chase twisted around and tried to reach out with its senses, but the immortal was quick to force it back down. “Stop it.” He hissed, and then used his magic to take him to what was left of the main hall of the Spicer Manor.

A moonlit sky riddled with charred rafters greeted Chase, rather than the Manor’s tall ceiling and chandelier. It must’ve burnt for hours before anyone was able to stop it. Now, hardly any of it remained.

The dragon hissed again, sensing nothing left in the remains. No living thing hiding in one of the abandoned rooms. No Jack. Twisting his hands into tight fists, Chase nodded. His dragon wouldn’t lie, so he left the manor and returned to his own home, ready to forget this place, and forget Jack…

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

###  **  
Chapter 1**

Chase’s dragon was furious. It had spent the last several hours squirming and nipping within the immortal’s head, and knew it was being expertly ignored. While it snarled, the dark haired warrior stared sightlessly ahead. Not seeing the open garden filled with entangling plants, or feeling the steam from the hot springs. But whatever Chase was sensing, it had a hard grip on him, and his dragon couldn’t stand it.

The immortal was perched on his knees, trying desperately to clear his head, when a crackle of Heylin magic sparked across his dark hair. Chase winced, stunned by his own lack of control. He’d been able to overcome such trivialities centuries ago, and yet, here he was, struggling just like he had on first becoming an immortal.

This wouldn’t do, Chase thought, so he narrowed his eyes and pushed back harder against that strange feeling curling around chest. But the more he fought it, the tighter its grip got, and within another hour, his anger had sizzled around him, burning across his face until he was snarling along with his dragon.

What was _wrong_ with him?!

Around the immortal several plants burst into flames, and Chase’s golden eyes snapped to them like an eager moth.

The red of the flames reminded Chase of Jack, and that thought wiped the anger from his face. Slowly, the fires around him sizzled out.

Taking a slow breath, the immortal rolled back so he could sit properly, easing his tight muscles while he thought. Was that truly it? Was he having trouble because he still didn’t know where Jack was? While those questions floored Chase, it seemed to finally settle his dragon. It must’ve liked the idea, because it released the pressure it had been building behind his eyes.

“Why do you care so much about him?” Chase asked, but his dragon snorted; it didn’t care. But, it reasoned, Chase did, and if finding the stupid human made the immortal feel better, then that was what they needed to do.

Chase tried to deny it; he didn’t care about Jack either. He never had. Jack was just a human, albeit a smart one.

Very smart, the dragon reminded him; smart enough to know Chase was worth worshipping.

Chase’s lips quirked into a smile, and he rolled his eyes. But even still, he decided to go along with his dragon on this one. He’d find Jack, and he’d settle this...

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When Chase appeared in Jack’s lab, he discovered that a lot had changed in the past two months since the fire. There was no more rubble lying across the floor or blocking the stairs, and everything, including the Jack-Bot and all the machines Jack used to covet had been removed, leaving the place feeling cold and sterile. None of it felt right, Chase thought as he cast eyes over at the empty work tables and chairs. If Jack had been in this room since the fire, he hadn’t touched it.

The stairs were rebuilt too, so Chase climbed them and scented the air, just catching the remnants of char and ash. It must’ve been buried under the foundations, rather than cleared away like it should’ve been. Whoever had rebuilt the house must’ve been rushed to finish it. But at the same time, Chase saw how small details had been catered for. Like the curtains he remembered for their finery had been repurchased and draped across the windows of the foyer. Even the most expensive vases and items had been repurchased or recreated.

Chase couldn’t stand how desperate it all felt, so went to climb the stairs to the first floor. But something caught his eye, and he stopped to look over a table overflowing with photos, of all sizes... and all of Jack. Most of the photos were when he was small; a child playing with a toolbox, or covered in oil, or just smiling. He was an endearing child, Chase admitted as he gazed at each picture. Then, he found the only recent picture. Jack had to have been almost 20 in that one; a handsome young man even though he wasn’t smiling like he usually was. He was wearing a fine suit and forcing a grin that looked like it was about to crack. He’d been crowded by a sea of faces he likely didn’t know, and one of the men beside him had hooked an arm around his waist.

Chase narrowed his eyes on Jack’s pale face, surprised. Whoever had framed this photo must’ve been a fool to think Jack was actually happy in it.

_Tnk Tnk Tnk  
_

Chase froze, and then scanned the hall carefully. A moment later, the sound stopped, but echoed around the hall, reminding Chase of a hammer against metal. Jack was here; the fool was alive and had been hiding until he thought the immortal had left.

**How dare he?!**

With his dragon snapping at his heels, Chase dashed for the lab and was halfway down the stairs before he thought to speak. He cracked open his mouth and snarled for the boy-  
  
But stopped on the last step, heart staggering. The room was still empty. There weren’t even any tools or metal to make the sound Chase had heard. Stepping slowly into the room, Chase turned, scanning every wall for a seam where a secret room could be hidden; somewhere for Jack to hide.

But why would Jack hide from him?

_**Tnk** _

Chase spun around, and felt the air rush out of him when he found Jack standing right behind him. Then, relief crashed against Chase, and he took a startled breath, “Spicer- Where have you been?” he hissed, reaching out to grab Jack and make the boy pay for worrying him.

His hand stopped short of grabbing Jack when he realized the redhead was staring past him, and towards the stairs. "Spicer-?" Before Chase could say another word, Jack moved towards the stairs, and in doing so, passed straight through the immortal like he wasn’t even there.

A chill shivered through every molecule Jack touched, leaving Chase to stagger under the weight now digging into his chest. His frantic eyes blinked after Jack, who was now clearly translucent against the dark walls. 

“No…” Chase said before he could check himself, and his dragon snarled, clearly not pleased with the turn of events. “Spicer…” he called after him, rushing up the stairs to follow him. “Spicer!”

If Jack heard him, he didn’t show it. Instead, he stood at the edge of the hallway, peering into the foyer and nervously sucking on his lower lip. He looked back, and for a moment Chase thought the boy would see him and his heart leapt, but Jack’s eyes lit on something the immortal couldn’t see, and he spoke and no sound past his lips.

Whatever he was saying, it was clear the young genius was worried. He then waved his hand, like he was telling someone to leave, then the spirit walked around the corner and entered the foyer.

Chase hesitated, and regretted it when he hurried after Jack, but found he had already gone.

The relief at seeing Jack again had boiled away now, leaving Chase feeling worse than he had before. He’d assumed Jack was alive after the fire; assumed he’d escaped, but now it was clear, Jack hadn’t. He’d been trapped in the house. He’d died, and Chase hadn’t even noticed.  

Sickened by the thought, the immortal walked to the stairs that led to the next floor and headed for Jack’s door. But before he could reach it, the sound of someone opening the front door raced up the stairs. Chase stepped to the edge of the landing, and peered down into the foyer, but his hopes at finding Jack there were quickly washed away.

Instead, he found a woman in black, who was very much alive and skirting across the foyer towards the little shrine of photos. With a shaking hand, she pulled away a veil across her face, and knelt before it, sobbing quietly. Silently, Chase watched on, admittedly curious. He recognized her with ease, noting how she shared her tear streaked cheekbones and nose with her son.

Reaching for a photo, Jack’s mother dragged it against her chest, whispering under her breath. “Jack… we started planning your service today…” she sniffed, bowing her head, “Your father is working with Luther now to sort all the details- He’s been so helpful, Jack-”

A chill swept across Chase’s spine, and he narrowed his eyes on Jack’s mother. She’d broken down into a wash of tears, and didn’t seem to notice how her gasps were turning into puff of cold air, and how her hot tears were beginning to steam. 

Her eyes crept open to stare at the photo in her hand. It was the one of Jack holding one of his first robots. “I’m so sorry, baby. I should’ve been here-”

A giggle of a child rose up behind her, and she spun around to see a familiar little boy. It was like he’d leapt from the photo, and Jack’s mother flinched at the sight of the pale boy, while Chase watched on curiously. Even as a five year old, Jack had wild red hair and intelligent eyes. He buzzed across the marble floor, to the window beside the front door. Then his excited smile sank when he looked out and didn’t see what he’d been hoping for.

Then Jack flickered and grew in size; maybe 10 years old this time, but he still had that same disappointed gaze when he looked out the window.  _“Come on, Mom…”_  younger Jack moaned, tapping the glass,  _“You promised.”_

Then Jack, as Chase remembered him, appeared; tall and handsome, and rolling his eyes. When he spoke, his voice was dull, like he didn’t care anymore. “Of course she’s not coming…”

“No, Jack!” his mother gasped, her eyes widening as she struggled to her feet. She stumbled towards her son, her shaking hands reaching for Jack who was still watching the window. “No- I planned to come and see you this time- but work got so busy that I-”

For the first time since Chase had witnessed Jack’s spirit, he finally seemed to sense someone. His head snapped around to face his mother, and his eyes, that had looked dull a moment before, now looked like they were on fire.  _“Don_ _’t lie! You never gave a shit about me!”_

Jack flickered out of sight, but his voice remained, echoing over and over again, until the words merged into a piercing scream. It stung even Chase’s ears, so it must’ve torn at Jack’s mother. Not surprisingly, she buckled, trying desperately to cover her ears. But the sound only grew stronger, until it shook the house and cracked the windows. The floor was next to go, tearing where Jack had been standing. The crack rushed to where his mother screamed and stumbled back against her prized pictures and knocking them down. They shattered at her feet, but she didn’t care anymore. “No!” she wailed, tearing across the foyer to the front door.

The rumbling hesitated, and Chase watched Jack reappear behind his frantic mother, now clawing at the handle and trying to escape. He looked smaller now, almost translucent like a candle flame. His hair flickered when she finally opened the door, and he hurried to reach out for her, begging her to wait.

But the door slammed back on Jack’s face, and he flickered out of existence, leaving the foyer silent and in pieces.

From the landing, Chase stared at the spot Jack had been standing moments ago, and then slowly released the death grip he had had on the banister and took a staggering breath he hadn’t known he’d need.

Without another thought, Chase retreated to Jack’s room. It was empty now, of course. All the posters and personal items Jack had kept in the room, lost in the fire. But Chase knew this was Jack’s from those brief visits he used to make to the mansion. At the back of the room, a dark king sized bed waited. It was crowded with pillows, so the immortal tossed most of them aside, until there was only one left.

Then, Chase lay down, closed his eyes and tried to think…

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  


### TBC...

 


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack, now a restless soul, cannot forget what happened...

#  **The Haunting of Spicer Manor**

##  **Part 2**

  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  


###  **Chapter 2**  
  


The day passed and pulsed into night, leaving Chase’s head aching.

He’d tried to remember every fact he’d ever learnt about spirits. He knew surprisingly little, as the subject had never really applied to him. The few ghosts he’d met in his time were either passive presences that lingered where they had died, or in Wuya’s case, furious poltergeists that refused to stay dead. But Jack was wasn’t like any of them... In fact, the genius was somehow able to interact with this world in ways Wuya had never been able to. Downstairs, the floor of the manor was still torn in two.

Violent, furious,  _terrified_... Chase eyebrows knit; Jack was lashing out, but at what?

The door to Jack’s room shivered and Chase turned his eyes to it, just in time to see it slam closed and rattle on its hinges. Not moving from the bed, the immortal just watched it, waiting to see what was coming next. For a long time, it did nothing but stare back at Chase, then something crashed against the other side, pounding and beating until he thought the door would shatter.

Standing slowly, Chase approached the door carefully, then reached for the handle.

He barely got a chance to touch it, when Jack flashed between him and the door, holding it shut,  _“STOP!”_  Jack screamed.

Chase streaked away from the door and Jack, his eyes flickering over the ghost, who was clinging at his side. Jack’s stomach was drenched with blood and it was dripping onto the carpet and soaking into it. Jack shook his head, coughing up a mouthful of the horrid stuff while he clung at the handle. He was trying desperately to stop it from spinning in his blood smeared hand. “Please!” Jack begged, tears burning into his eyes, “Please just leave me alone-!”

Then the door shattered and Jack screamed and vanished.

Chase stared at the door, as pieces of it fell onto the blood stain spreading across the carpet and eating up the walls.

Then, fury rippled through the immortal, and his dragon felt it too. It snapped and twisted in the warrior’s chest, desperate to get out and find the thing that had attacked Jack. Someone had hurt him, they realized together, and Chase stormed out of Jack’s room, eyes flashing around, looking for his ghost.

Another scream ripped through the air, and Chase ran down the stairs to find it, “Jack!” he roared, “Jack, tell me where you are!”

_Tnk Tnk…_

Chase bolted to the basement, only stopping when his feet sank into something too thick to water. Blood slicked around his legs and Chase slipped a few inches across the floor. It forced him to snatch at the banister to stop himself from falling. Then, the smell hit Chase, and it was overwhelming. Gagging, the immortal covered his mouth, while his eyes spun around the room. It wasn’t just blood; there was something sharp in the air as well.

He looked around the basement, searching for the room’s walls, but all he could see now was a dark haze creeping across the surface. Smoke, but alive and twisting like snakes. 

“H-help… me…”

“Jack!” Chase said, and let go of the banister, ignoring the way the blood around his feet sucked him down deeper. It was at his knees now, clinging at him as he walked into the smoke. Ignoring the way it burned at his eyes, Chase struggled on, peering through the dark, “Jack- Jack where are you?!”

“… s-someone…” Jack's voice whimpered.   
  
The blood rippled around Chase’s legs, and the immortal spun, his hands swiping through the dark. Jack sounded like he was drowning now, like he couldn’t breathe. He gurgled and begged while Chase’s hands dove into the blood, feeling out for the boy. Then, Jack’s breathing panicked, and the ripples grew stronger, “No- no please! You can’t--- SOMEONE- HELP ME!”

Jack’s voice melted into screams and Chase staggered when pain pressed around him, burning across his skin. All along his arms, his flesh blackened and peeled away, as if caught in an updraught. Soon the burning even began to reach his bones, and Chase buckled, sinking deeper into the blood.

Fight it, his dragon hissed, surging up along Chase’s burning spine. But even it was starting to feel the heat, and roared when the blood sucked them deeper again, threatening to swallow them whole.

“Jack…?”

A voice Chase had never heard before shattered the illusion, and a soothing silence swept around the immortal and his aching ears.

Blinking slowly, he found himself kneeling on the clean basement floor. Swallowing hard, Chase climbed to his feet, and spun when something moved out of the corner of his eye. It was Jack, at the stairs, covered in fatal burns, like he’d been caught in the inferno along with Chase. He’d been reliving the fire, Chase realized, as the burns along the boy’s pale skin sank away.

Then, Jack looked nervously up the stairs, and climbed them.

The voice came again, it was smooth and sickly, “Jack? I know you’re here…”

Chase followed and found Jack stopping at the corner of the hallway like he had before. It was like Chase was watching everything repeat. The spirit peered around the corner, sucked on his lip, turned back, but this time when he spoke, Chase heard him.

“How did he get in here?” Jack whispered, his voice giving his nerves away. He smiled anyway, and waved whoever he was speaking to away. “Wait for me downstairs, JB-15.”

“Your mother came to see me, Jack.” The man’s voice called out again, chuckling nervously. “'Jack is haunting me!'” he mimicked the woman’s frantic wails, “'He tried to kill me!'"

Jack walked from the corner, leaving Chase to watch from the shadows as the spirit approached a man, who had to be in his late forties, and was smiling at the carnage on the floor. He was familiar, Chase realized, but couldn’t remember where he’d seen him before.

Whoever the man was, his smile faltered when he saw Jack, and he scurried back when the redhead grinned up at him.

“What brings you here, Luther?” Jack hummed pleasantly, then flickered closer to the older man, startling him.

Luther stumbled back again, his eyes wide and terrified for a brief moment, but despite his fear, a frantic smile crept onto his face. Chase's dragon sensed a fellow predator in the man, and hissed a warning to the immortal. Chase nodded.   
  
“Y-You’re still alive?” Luther laughed, leering down on Jack and licking his lips. “I don’t know how you did it-” a knife appeared by his side and he lunged at Jack, but the blade sailed right through him.

That didn’t mean Chase was any less infuriated. It took a lot to stay put, and watch Jack, who didn’t seem to even flinch. Rolling his eyes at Luther, Jack smiled hatefully. “My parents aren’t paying you to visit me, Luther, so why are you here?” Jack asked, shrugging, and Chase finally understood it. Jack was reliving a conversation; one he’d had with Luther when he was alive. Luther must’ve sensed it too, because he looked lost as the young genius threw him a familiar glare, “Shouldn’t you be off somewhere, trying to siphon more money from the Spicer fortune?”

Then a shiver ran through Jack, and he began to flicker around the edges. “W-What are you doing?” Jack’s voice was terrified, but his face was wrong. He was smiling in a horrible distorted way that didn’t stop where it should’ve. With a horrible tearing sound, his smile split his face in two, releasing flames that ripped out of his mouth and across his skin. Jack began to crackle, as the flames crept up across his skin and hair, charring it until the bone began to reveal itself. 

“What the fuck-?!” Luther screamed, then Jack was on him, and in seconds the fire had spread to the older man. “Get off of me! Let go!” he screamed and writhed free, before bolting for the door

The fire around Jack dimmed, and a panicked look flashed across his face, but this time, when he spoke, Luther’s voice emerged, like an old recording; “Why are you hiding Jack? Come OUT-!”

The front door shattered before Luther could reach it, spitting shards at the man and driving him back onto the ground. He screamed and scrambled up again, but when he turned to run, Chase was there to stop him.

Having waited long enough, the immortal grabbed Luther across the face and mouth, and squeezed until his jaw cracked and teeth groaned. Inflicting just enough pain to keep the human conscious and screaming.

“Chase?”

For the first time since this whole ordeal started, Jack was finally looking at him.

Chase would’ve been lying if he didn’t say it was a relief to have those red eyes seeing him again. Jack was slowly piecing back together, his skin growing back, and the fire retreating until it all but glowed within him.

“What are you doing here?”

The question seemed so innocent, that Chase almost didn’t know how to answer. But in the end, he decided to go with the truth; “To find you…” he admitted, hating the way Jack looked back at him like he didn’t understand. Shaking his head, Chase asked the question he was beginning to dread the answer to; “What did this man do to you, Jack?”

Confusion rippled through the ghost, and he almost flickered out of sight as his eyes fbroke free from Chase’s, and trailed along his arm until he spotted Luther. The moment their eyes met, a pit sank from under all of them, swallowing them all in darkness. Luther screamed and shook, but Chase kept still, watching Jack, and the way he trembled.

The moment of darkness didn’t last long, before they reappeared in Jack’s room, before the shuddering door. Luther stared too, his eyes bulging with terror as he watched Jack- or what  _had been_  Jack, forcing the door shut and screaming at it; “STOP!” The handle spun in his bloody hands, “Please-” the door shuddered again, “Please just leave me alone!”

Chase sensed what was coming, and tensed when a blade shattered through the frame, slashing into Jack’s arm and forcing him back. The door followed, smashing against the young man.

Then Luther was there, grabbing at Jack’s hair. Without hesitation, he smashed the fist clutching the knife, against the pale boy’s face.

The space around the trio dimmed, just as it must’ve for Jack when unconscious swept him away for a few blissful moments. Then the world returned, sluggish and blurred at its edge.

Chase’s stomach twisted when he finally was able to see Jack again, and somehow he wished he hadn’t. The pale genius was on the stairs, clinging at the rungs weakly, while Luther laughed and dragged him down a few more steps. Each stair drove the air from Jack’s chest, and he wheezed and whimpered, "... please s-stop..."

The urge to turn away worsened when the immortal noticed Jack’s clothes. They were torn from the beating, but his pants were unbuttoned and slipping against his bruised hips and waist.

When the stairs melted away, and the basement appeared, Chase let him grip on Luther’s face tighten, so it mashed the broken pieces of jaw together. But the pleasure at hearing Luther wail was swept away when he finally saw Jack in the darkest corner.

_**Tnk Tnk** _

Jack was surrounded by an ever growing pool of blood. He was pulling weakly at a pair of handcuffs that had him trapped against one of his own machines. The sound rattled again and again, but the only damage Jack was doing was to his own wrists. Finally, exhausted, Jack rolled away from the pipe so half his face was pressed against the pool of his own blood. It rippled when he finally tried to speak; “Please…” he begged the empty room, “Please, someone- help me…-”

“M-Maaa-ster.”

Chase looked down and found the Jack-Bot he’d seen when he first visited the house. It was ruined, dotted with holes where bullets had torn it open. It sparked and clawed for Jack, but was too weak to move. “I’m coming, M-Masteeerrr.”

A bullet blew into its head and the Jack-Bot dropped and didn’t move again.

“Endearing bucket of rust...” Luther said, as he passed right by where the Luther of the here-and-now watched; terrified and trembling, as his past-self dropped a jerry can of petrol at his feet.

Jack reeled away from him, but he couldn’t escape the older man. Luther dragged Jack as far as the handcuffs would allow, before pressing their lips together and smirked when Jack gagged.

The dragon within Chase thrashed again, begging to be released, and every muscle in the immortal agreed. He lost control for a split second, and took one step closer, ready to race at the vision and tear Luther away from Jack. But then, his eyes snapped back to the ghostly Jack, standing beside him, watching on with exhausted eyes; like he’d done this all before.

“Do you know how long I’ve wanted to do this?” Luther hissed when he finally let Jack go, “Fucking years.”

He released Jack, and the young man fell. His eyes were growing dull too, and Chase knew Jack was almost dead.

“For years, I wanted to get you alone. At every party your family hosted, I attended- not for those two idiots… But for you.” Luther chuckled, his voice wild now as he remembered, “But, of course, I wasn’t good enough- for rich little Jack…” he spat the boy’s name as he reached for the petrol, and listened as he sloshed the liquid around thoughtfully. “You couldn’t stand me, but thankfully your parents did. Didn’t you love it when they gave me a key to the house?”

A chill swept through Chase as he imagined Jack, alone with this monster. The dragon within felt it too, and begged Chase to just smash the living-breathing Luther into the ground. He would’ve too, if he wasn’t so absorbed in what the man said next.

“Then, you changed the locks- And when you weren’t at home hiding, you were spiriting around the globe, avoiding me.” Luther sounded genuinely hurt for a moment, and then his eyes narrowed to slits. “And when I did see you at those parties- All I heard you talking about, was  _him_ -” Luther’s teeth snapped like a furious dog’s “Who the fuck is Chase Young anyway?! I tried to track the fucker down- but do you know how many Chase Young’s live in China-? In the world?!” the lawyer stilled, his eyes pinned to the ceiling now, “You didn’t say it, but I could see it whenever you talked about him. Chase was what you wanted… not me.”  

Chase heart staggered as he watched on. He thought Luther had truly lost his mind, until Jack, almost-dead, seemed to revitalize at the mention of the immortal’s name. He blinked his bloody eyelashes and looked around the dark basement, “Chase…?” he asked, and the hope in voice almost tore the immortal's heart in two.

“NO!” A boot slammed down against Jack’s stomach, and the pale boy crumpled and moaned. “He’s NOT here- and you’re never see him again!”

Before Jack could recover, petrol splashed over his head. Gagging, the young genius tried to roll away, then froze when he realized what was happening, “No- no please! You can’t--- SOMEONE- HELP ME!”

A match lit somewhere, but Chase didn’t turn to see it; he just watched as Jack crammed his eyes closed. Somewhere, half way up the stairs behind them, Luther dropped the match and said his last goodbye.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

###  **Chapter 3**

Fire and screams and burning flesh filled Chase’s vision for only a second, and then it was gone again.

In the blink of an eye, all three of them returned to the spot in the foyer they’d been standing when the visions started. They hadn’t moved from their places, but had instead, been shown the last horrifying memories Jack had to offer.

When the dragon within Chase finally asked to kill the human, he obliged.

Without hesitation, scales slithering over Chase’s skin and his fingers splintered into claws. Luther barely had a chance to see the change, before the dragon’s teeth tore off his arm. The lawyer scrambled to clasp at the stump as he struggled free from Chase’s grip. So terrified, he let the reptile’s claws tears a hole through his cheek. He fell hard and choked on his own blood, “No, please!” he slurred through his ruined mouth, tears mingling with his blood as he crawled back, begging; “Stop-! Please- I’ll do anything- Just-”

A clawed fist smashed against his chest, crushing his ribcage, and cutting the man short. Luther slid back against a wall, where he gasped and moaned in agony.

“Isn’t it ironic?” Chase’s voice rumbled between his bloody teeth, as his gold eyes watched Luther begin to suffocate. “Jack begged too... Now look at him?”

Luther didn’t want to look, but he felt Jack now, beside him, breathing against his ear.  _Crackling._

Before the lawyer’s flickering eyes could find Jack beside him, teeth slashed into his leg, breaking the bone and holding him still, while two small pale hands gripped his shoulder. The hands were worse than the teeth, and burned right through his skin, sinking into his shoulders and setting him alight.

As Luther writhed and died amongst the flames, Chase slipped back to the surface, settling his sated dragon. It had been a long time since it got to tear a human to pieces, and it had been even longer since one deserved it so badly.

Chase wiped the blood from his lips as he gazed across at Jack.

Now, the ghost looked anew; his face fresh and pale, almost glowing. If Chase thought that might make him feel better, the hope he felt was washed away when he saw Jack’s eyes. They were welling with tears that dribbled down his face and hissed out of existence before they could reach the floor. Slowly, those weeping eyes slid to meet Chase’s, and the immortal’s stomach twisted; “Why did I have to die, Chase?” he moaned, “Why?”

Chase was beside Jack and reaching for him before he could think. His hands slid through Jack’s, and the spirit clasped at them desperately, and sobbed harder. “It’s not fair!” Jack gasped, slamming his eyes shut, and the walls of the manor shuddered around them.

Snarling, Chase didn’t give up, “Jack.” He growled, reaching out again, but this time, he called on his magic. Surely it could help. It rushed to his fingers and then Chase had Jack’s shoulder in his grip.   
  
With a gasp, Jack was pulled into Chase’s arms.

If he had lungs to breathe with, he might’ve had the air crushed from them, but Chase didn’t care, just pressed his face against Jack’s temple, relieved.

Jack shivered in his arms, and Chase ducked his head until their foreheads pressed together, so they could see each other. “You shouldn’t have been alone.” Were the first words Chase could gather, and he shivered furiously; “If I’d known- I would’ve been here- I would’ve killed him for you.”

Something in Jack’s face broke, and he sobbed through a shattered smile. He clung back at Chase, nodding. “I know you would’ve…” Jack whispered back, but Chase knew by the look on the ghost’s face, he hadn’t known that as he died. In some horrible twisted way, he’d believed Chase would’ve let him burn.

But knowing the truth now, seemed to help, and Jack relaxed in Chase’s arms, and his pale glow dimmed… Then darkened…

“No.” Chase whispered when he realized what was happening. Jack felt it too, and clung at Chase with fingers neither immortal or spirit could see any more.

“What’s happening?” Jack said, but as soon as he said those words, he knew as well as Chase that he was done with this world. Dropping his head, Jack loosened his grip, “I have to go, don’t I?”

“No.” two voices chimed together in Chase’s throat, as he and his dragon came to a decision. “You’re not going anywhere.”

Jack barely got a chance to process those words before an icy feeling slid from every place Chase touched him. Looking to his hands, which had moments ago, been faint outlines, Jack found them reforming. They were solid. Jack stared, stunned still, until he saw it. A thin green line slithering through his arms and digging deeper. Jack felt them reach his chest, and winced when they hooked there, like small anchors.

When Jack finally tore his eyes free from the delicate strands of Heylin magic, he saw Chase, and he thought his world would end.

The immortal looked paler than Jack have ever been, almost grey now, like he’d lost every drop of blood. “Chase?” Jack’s grip on the immortal tightened. He began to shake his head as his brain began to process what was happening. “What are you doing-?” Jack began to shake the warrior’s arms, not caring for the hot glare the golden eyed immortal shot him, “Chase- stop it! Whatever this is- it’s killing you- Chase-!”

“Wait for me,” was all Chase said, and then he was gone.

Jack doubled over and shuddered. He felt the delicate lines of magic pull tight, and echoes of pain belonging to Chase rang down the lines. If the pain Jack felt was mere echoes of what Chase was feeling, then the immortal must’ve been torn to pieces…

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The crackle of Heylin magic was weak, but Omi sensed it even in his sleep. He shot awake and clawed his eyes around his room until he found the source. It was out in the courtyard, but it wasn’t moving. Omi shivered, and as quietly as he could, he dashed out of bed to see what it was.

He found Chase Young, kneeling in the middle of the temple garden, panting and shaking so badly that it made even Omi feel light headed. He crept closer, and shivered when the immortal didn’t even try to lift his head; it was almost like he hadn’t the strength to move.

Swallowing hard, Omi knelt beside the immortal and tried to find Chase’s face amongst the mass of black hair falling around his head. The only thing the smallest monk saw were drops of blood and spit streak from Chase’s gasping mouth.

“Chase?” Omi asked, reaching out for the immortal to help him, but stopped when a single golden eye found him through the immortal’s thick hair.

“Bring me… the serpent’s tail and the reversing mirror.” The words slid from Chase’s bloodied mouth, and were so quiet, Omi was afraid he’d misunderstood.

But judging by the look in Chase’s slitted eyes, he was dead serious.

“Please….” Chase hissed, and winced his eyes closed as the tearing feeling in his chest deepened and split something in two. Woozy, the immortal groaned and struggled to open his eyes again, but smiled when he managed it.

Omi had already been and gone in that lost moment, and was holding both Wu in his shaking hands. “… Jack?” the name slipped from Omi’s lips, and he paled, “He’s dead?”

Chase didn’t answer, just reached for the wu and gently took them from the monk.

Then, a crackle of magic passed around Chase, and he fell back to the manor floor, with the items clutched to his chest. He blinked when a pair of hands grabbed his shoulders, but they weren’t gentle and shook him until his eyes slid open. The first thing he saw was Jack flickering in fear, “Break the connection!” Jack sobbed, “Chase- I won’t let you die!”

“And, neither will I…” Chase said, shoving the serpent’s tail at Jack.

Stumbling away with the wu clasped in his fingers, Jack stared at the wu like he’d forgotten what it was. For the first time, he saw the Xiaolin magic in the wu, and it glinted back at him with pearly white light. It was ready and eager, even without Jack calling its name. Then it tugged in his hands, and Jack looked to where the tail wanted to go, and froze.

Chase was with the mirror, but now, it seemed he’d lost the strength to hold himself up anymore. He was slumped over the frame, eyes shut and still. Then, Jack felt one of the lines of Heylin magic snap, like it’d been pulled too tight.

Choking on the loss, Jack snapped his eyes to the reversing mirror; it glowed too, ready for him and the tail.

It was clear what he had to do. Strangling the serpent’s tail in both hands, Jack lunged at the mirror.

And it threw him right back. Jack hit the ground hard, making him gag as his spine hit the floor and sent a shockwave of pain rocketing up into his scalp. It tingled there; twisting around the roots of his hair, making Jack moan and roll onto his side. The cold marble floor happily pressed back against his bare side, and Jack shivered.

 _‘Skin’_ , the thought snapped Jack’s eyes open.

He felt his new heart begin to pound and rush his head with burning blood. It made his head swim, but he still took a few seconds to search his new body for the Heylin hooks. There’d been a few left when he’d leapt for the mirror. But now… he couldn’t feel them anymore…

He tore his eyes to where Chase was, and shivered when he realized the immortal wasn’t moving. Chase was still slumped over that damned mirror, eyes closed and pale- Was he even breathing-? With his heart bouncing around his ribs, Jack felt tears burn up into his eyes, “Chase-” he gasped and reached for the immortal, winding his weak arms around Chase’s waist and arms. With strength he didn’t quite have yet, Jack reared one foot back and kicked the mirror away, so Chase fell to the floor with him. Still the immortal didn’t’ stir and Jack shuddered. “You idiot!” Jack groaned, shaking the immortal with his weak arms, “Wake up! Come on, Chase!  **CHASE!** ”

“Shh--…”

Jack had just began pounding his aching hands down on Chase’s chest plate, and almost didn’t hear the immortal’s whisper. He froze, his fisted fingers flaring out so he could clutch at the armour, like he could feel for the immortal’s heartbeat through it.

It was only when Chase’s golden eye peeked open and looked right back at Jack, that the human dropped his head on Chase’s shoulder and sobbed. “Oh my god!” he gasped against Chase’s chest, and cried until his eyes had nothing left to give.

Then Jack punched Chase in the arm.

Startled, the immortal flinched and gave Jack a scandalized look, but the young man glared right back.

“You almost killed yourself!” Jack spat, rubbing his red raw eyes furiously.

Chase blinked right back, “Yes.”

Shaking his head in despair, Jack tried to push himself up and away from Chase, so he could think clearly; but the immortal was too fast, and snapped both arms around the younger man. Thrown off guard, the anger washed off of Jack’s face. “Why?” Jack moaned, reaching up now to touch Chase’s face. “I wouldn’t have forgiven myself if you died…” Jack finally choked out.

Chase must’ve not liked what Jack was saying, because he grabbed the back of the redhead’s hair gently and pressed him closer until their foreheads touched again. They both shivered, because this time they were both real to feel it. “It wasn’t your decision to make.” Chase said, and the words washed across Jack’s face. “Even if you wanted to leave this world- I wasn’t going to let you.” He spoke each word carefully, making sure Jack saw he meant it. “Understand?”

Jack did, in a strange way that made him smile and lie against Chase, revelling in the arms of the immortal he’d admired for over a decade. As they breathed together, recovering slowly, Jack finally sensed a warmth he hadn’t before, creeping through him like green vines. It moved through his veins, to where the hooks had laid before; but now they sat comfortably, nestled alongside Jack’s heart.

Through that weave of magic, Jack felt Chase’s smile before he saw it.

Chase chuckled, tightening his hold on Jack’s back, one hand across his shoulder, the other, down across the small of his back. “I hope you can handle never dying again…”

For a moment, Jack had no words, and his heart which pounded before, skipped a beat. Then he smiled back at the immortal.   
  
“Once is enough.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I had SO much fun writing this.  
> It's based on an artwork on my deviantart (Cold-Creature) - seen here - http://cold-creature.deviantart.com/art/Jack-Ghost-512748175  
> <3

**Author's Note:**

> Part 2 will me up for Halloween US time-   
> and Late-Arvo Halloween in Australia! ;D Enjoy!! <3


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